Matthew 13:30 “Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”

The harvest, Jesus tells us, is the “end of the age.” It is the end of this last era of human history in which we now live. At that time Jesus comes with his angels for judgment.

Those angels, Jesus says, “will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Our Lord doesn’t warn us about the fires of hell out of cruelty, but concern. There has to be some place for those who will not trust him and do not like him. You might think that when he returns people will change their minds. They won’t any longer deny that he exists, because they will see him face to face. They will no longer be able to deny that the things he did and taught are true.

But this is not the same thing as conversion. This is not the same thing as coming to trust and love him. Let’s say that two men who don’t like each other and disagree about something decide to settle it with a fight. One man wins the fight. The other man is forced to give in. That does not mean he all of a sudden feels all warm and fuzzy about the winner. He might even hate him more.

At the end, Jesus will win the battle with those who have opposed him. They will be forced to admit the reality that Jesus was right about everything all along. But they won’t like it. They may hate him more in eternity than they did in their earthly life.

It is not a lack of compassion that leads us to conclude heaven is not the place for such people. As Jesus’ everlasting opponents they would ruin it. There is only one place left for them, banished and exiled from the Lord and Savior they don’t like and don’t want anyway. C.S. Lewis once observed that the gates of hell are locked from the inside.

But believing, trusting souls who followed Jesus through the dangers of earthly life are gathered home. “Gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (vs. 43). Much of what waits for us in heaven is beyond our comprehension now, but Jesus’ words suggest two things. First, there is glory. We will shine like the sun. We will be transformed into higher, better, perfected versions of ourselves.

Second, this all happens “in the kingdom of their Father.” Not just “the” Father. Not Just “Jesus’’” Father. “Their” Father. “Our Father.” In heaven we find love in the home of the Father who made us, and then made us his own by faith. We will be loved, treasured, and protected in the kingdom that has no end. Unbelievers may be judged, but believers are gathered home in Jesus’ picture of our heavenly future.